Family is Everything
by BraxtonBoys666
Summary: The Braxton boys had done everything they could to keep their little sister Aria out of harms way, but now Jake Pirovic is back in Summer Bay and he's got some unfinished business.
1. Chapter 1

There was always a brief moment of anxiety as Aria paddled out on her surfboard, the fear of not knowing what was heading her way or if she'd be able to handle it. She remembered the first time she caught a wave, it wasn't all that big, but she still managed to stand up and ride it back to the beach.

Brax had been super proud of her that day and from then on, surfing became a part of who she was. She found herself at peace out on the water, watching as new sets of waves formed and judging whether they were worth the effort.

Emerging from the water after catching a few good waves, Aria detached her board and dug it into the sand as she dried herself off a little. Hearing her name being called, she looked up and smiled as Casey made his way over to her.

"Looking good out there."

"Thanks, what's up?"

"Brax wants you to meet him at Angelo's," Casey told her, "Something about helping with a big delivery."

Checking her watch, she realized that she was going to be late and cursed under her breath.

"Can you take my board home for me, please?" Aria asked, kissing her brother's cheek when he nodded and rushing up the beach towards the restaurant.

"Nice of you to join us," Brax said as Aria walked through the doors.

"Sorry," Aria replied, leaning over to catch her breath, "I lost track of time."

"Go help Kyle in the back room and then you can give me a hand restocking the bar," Brax ordered, motioning for her to go and shaking his head as she walked away with a quick salute.

It took her and Kyle nearly two hours to finish checking that everything Brax ordered had arrived, but Aria knew that there was still plenty to do. Restocking the drinks behind the bar, she made sure that there were enough glasses for the night shift and took a seat at the bar as Brax opened.

Having nothing better to do, Aria took charge of a few tables and felt her heart drop a little as Romeo walked in with a girl that she didn't recognise. Seating them at a table, she took their drinks order and then switched tables with another one of the waitresses.

"I could always kick him out," Kyle offered as he prepared some drinks for one of the bigger tables.

"It's fine, he's allowed to date other people," Aria stated, glancing over at the couple who were laughing and continuing, "Besides, I'm the one that screwed up my chances with him and now I have to suffer the consequences."

It was almost midnight, when Brax was finally able to lock up and they headed home. Waking up early the next morning, Aria headed out to catch a few waves and then made her way over to the diner to meet Dexter for breakfast.

"Thank goodness," Colleen practically shouted as Aria approached the counter, "Perhaps you can get them to leave."

"Who?" Aria inquired, following the direction that the older lady was pointing and spotting a few of the river boys sitting around a table, "Why me?"

"They only started showing up and causing trouble after that bother of yours moved onto the Bay," Colleen told her.

"Well, what do you want me to do about it?"

"Order them to leave or something, I don't feel safe with them around."

"I'm not their mother and maybe if you showed them just one ounce of respect, then you might actually get some in return," Aria snapped as Dexter joined her, "If they're causing problems, then call the police and let them deal with it."

Storming out with Dexter hot on her heels, she waited for him to catch up and they went back to his house instead. It wasn't the first time she'd had a run in with Colleen and she knew it wouldn't be the last, but that didn't make it okay.

Pushing the anger out of her mind, Aria ate the food that Marilyn had made them and focused on the project they had to do for school. It was nearly lunch time, when she decided to head home and walked into the house to find Leah sitting at the kitchen table with Brax.

"Ari, can you come here for a minute?" Brax asked.

"What did I do this time?" Aria replied, joining them in the kitchen and leaning against the counter with her arms crossed, "Whatever Colleen is saying I did, I didn't do it and Dexter will back me up."

"Actually, I came here to apologise for the things Colleen said," Leah explained, causing Aria to relax a little, "I heard what happened and the way she treated you was unfair… so for that I am sorry."

"It's okay," Aria mumbled, unsure of how to respond, "I guess I should apologise too for snapping the way I did, I just don't like people bad mouthing my brothers and need to learn to control my anger."

"From what I'm told, everything you said was true and you have no reason to be sorry for defending your family," Leah added as she stood up to leave, "You know, not everyone agrees with Colleen's views of your family."

Smiling, Aria nodded and watched as Brax showed Leah out. Knowing that Brax would probably have a go at her about letting her anger win, she waited for him to return and was surprised when he pulled her into a hug as if he knew that that was what she needed in that moment.


	2. Chapter 2

Hearing someone hammering on the door early the next morning, Aria groaned as she climbed out of bed and padded out of her room to answer it. Running a hand over her face, she opened the door expecting to see one of her brothers and was surprised to find herself face to face with Charlie Buckton.

"Sergeant Buckton, what brings you here at such an ungodly hour?"

"Hi Aria, is Heath in?"

"I'm going to take a guess and say that he's probably sleeping, what do you need him for?"

"I just need to ask him about his whereabouts last night around midnight."

"That's easy, he came home from Bianca's at about ten, watched a coupled of movies with me and then went to bed," Aria told her, "That can all be verified by Bianca, Brax, Casey and Kyle."

"What movies did you watch?" one of the officer's asked.

"Lord of the Rings and The Last Song," Aria replied, chuckling when the officer looked at her with disbelief written all over his face, "Trust me, I don't know how I managed to get him to watch it either, but it is still in the DVD player and I'm sure he could tell you all about it if you're really that interested."

"Who's at the door, nugget?" came Heath's gruff voice from behind her, drawing her attention away from the door and over towards where her older brother was approaching her.

"Oh, just our friendly law enforcement officers," Aria informed him with a smile, "They want to know where you were last night at midnight."

"Here, watching movies with you," Heath stated as he came to stand beside her, wrapping his arm around her shoulders and greeting Charlie with a nod.

"What movies?" the officer from before repeated.

"He asked me too."

"Lord of the Rings and some chick flick, The Last Song or something like that," Heath replied, "Had a bunch of hatching turtles in it at some point and the dad was ill… is there anything else?"

"Not right now, but we may need to speak to you again," Charlie warned, before motioning for the other officers to leave and following them as Heath closed the door.

Having the police turn up wasn't exactly something new at the Braxton house, but this time Aria knew that Heath hadn't done anything wrong and it got her thinking about what he had been accused of. Her brothers were far from angels and Heath had always tended to act without thinking things through, but everything had been getting better since he started dating Bianca.

Knowing that trying to get back to sleep was pointless, Aria made herself some breakfast and got comfortable on the sofa as she switched on the television. She had been flicking through the channels for nearly half an hour, when Kyle jumped into the spot next to her and snatched the remote from her hand.

"Hey," Aria protested, "I was watching that."

"You weren't watching anything, you were flicking and it's annoying," Kyle argued, "Besides, you have to go get ready for school."

"I hate you sometimes," Aria mumbled, punching him in the arm as she stood up and took her dirty bowl to the sink.

Grabbing a quick shower, she got changed into her school uniform and threw her hair up in a messy bun as she returned to the living room. Checking that she had all her books, she walked into the kitchen where Brax was now making coffee and kissed his cheek before heading out the door with a quick goodbye over her shoulder.

Putting one of her earplugs in, she pressed play on her Ipod and started the slow walk to school. Concentrating on the text message that she was sending Xavier, Aria soon found herself colliding with something solid and looked up to find a guy smirking down at her.

Hearing movement, she spun around and only then did she realize that she was surrounded. Everything from that point seemed to happen in slow motion as she watched them all raise paintball guns in her direction, causing her to drop her phone and cover her face as they opened fire.

It seemed to end as quickly as it had begun, leaving Aria frozen to the spot and uncovering her face as the sound of running footsteps was heard moving away from her. Taking a few deep breaths, she continued the rest of the way to school and was quickly taken to the principal's office.

"What happened?" Bianca inquired as she closed the door to her office, handing Aria a glass of water and taking a seat opposite her, "Aria?"

"These guys came out of nowhere and surrounded me," Aria explained, her voice quiet and unsure, "They just started shooting."

"Did you recognise them?"

"No."

"Okay, I've phoned Heath and Brax is going to come pick you up."

"You didn't need to do that, I just need some clean clothes to wear and I'll be good to go," Aria insisted, although the mere thought of sticking around and listening to the rumours that she knew had already started made her stomach turn.

"I'd rather you go get checked out by Nate."

"I'm not some fragile princess, they were just paintballs and I'm totally fine."

"It's school policy that all major injuries be accessed by a medical professional," Bianca told her, opening the door as someone knocked and thanking whoever was on the other side, "Brax is here."

Picking up her bag, Aria got to her feet and followed Bianca towards the office. Even though the corridors were all empty, she still found herself scanning her surroundings as they walked and flinched slightly as a locker slammed somewhere in the distance.

"Are you okay?" Brax asked, noticing the way Aria kept a good distance between them and turning his attention to Bianca," Thank you for phoning, I wouldn't have found out about it otherwise or at least not until later."

"Takes after her brothers like that."

"I'm not sure that that's a good thing," Brax added, thanking Bianca and heading out to his Ute with Aria in tow.

* * *

 ** _Authors Notes:_** _Just a quick note to say thank you for reading and that this story doesn't follow the shows timeline, so you will find characters interacting that you wouldn't have seen on screen (such as Charlie and Kyle)_


	3. Chapter 3

Getting the all clear from Nate, Aria spent the ride home arguing with Brax about how they should handle the situation and finally got him to agree to leave it be. She knew that he just wanted to protect her, but getting himself into trouble wasn't going to help and involving the police never did anything to solve the situation.

Waiting for school to finish, she headed down to the diner and immediately found herself pulled into a hug by Casey. Promising him that she was fine, she collected her school work from Dexter and dragged him to the surf club to play some pool.

"Aria," Romeo called from behind her, causing Aria to mentally groan as she turned to face him, "I heard what happened, are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Aria replied, glancing over to the bar and spotting the girl that he'd had dinner with the night before watching them, "I think your date is waiting."

"She's not my date," Romeo told her as if it was important for her to know, "I'm glad that you're okay."

Staring at his back as he walked away, Aria returned her attention to the game she'd been in the middle of playing and ignored the knowing look that Dexter was sending her way. Sinking the eight ball into the corner pocket for the third time with a triumphant grin, she decided that it was probably time for her to head home for dinner and said goodbye to Dexter as they went their separate ways.

Taking off her shoes, she walked a little way along the beach and then took her usual shortcut to get back to the house. Spotting the police car parked up outside, Aria let herself in and walked straight into the kitchen without a word to anyone.

"Aria, can we have a word about the incident that occurred this morning?" Sergeant Buckton asked as she joined her.

"I have a word for you… bye," Aria stated, "If I wanted you sniffing around I would have agreed to let Brax ring you, but I have no idea who it was that attacked me and can't give you a description."

"We just want to help," Charlie added.

"Makes a change from you trying to pin stuff on my brothers," Aria argued, barging past and taking her school work to the room that she shared with Kyle.

It was late by the time she heard Brax come in from shutting up the restaurant and allowed herself to drift off to sleep, waking up early the following morning to go for a swim before facing school. Submerging herself in the salty water, she closed her eyes and let all her anxieties about the day ahead wash away.

Emerging from the water after twenty minutes of swimming, Aria headed back to the house and got changed into her uniform. Allowing Brax to drop her off, she made her way straight to her locker and was surprised to find Romeo leaning against it.

"Can we talk?" he inquired as soon as she was in hearing range, stepping aside so that she could dump her books inside and waiting for an answer.

"The bell is about to ring and I really don't want to be late for Mr. Copelands class," Aria mumbled, turning to walk away and glancing back over her shoulder, "I could meet you at the surf club after school though?"

"I'll be there."

Whispers and rumors followed her down the halls as she moved from class to class, but Aria had known how it was going to be. The day seemed to crawl by and she had repeated the phrase 'I'm fine' about three thousand times, but finally it was time to go home.

Deciding to go straight to the surf club, Aria walked as far as the diner with Dexter and then split off from their group to meet Romeo. Taking a deep breath, she went inside and found Romeo already waiting.

"Hey," she said as she took a seat, putting her bag by her feet and waiting for him to speak.

"I wasn't sure that you were actually going to turn up, but I'm glad that you did…" Romeo admitted, "Look, I really don't like the way things are between us right now and I need you to tell me how to fix it."

"It's not you that needs to fix things," Aria told him, knowing that he deserved the truth, "Do you know why I said no when you asked me out?"

"I kind of guessed that you didn't feel the same."

"That's not it at all," Aria said, swallowing nervously as she continued, "I said no because I didn't want to drag you into my life, the people that I let too close tend to end up getting hurt and I couldn't stand to watch that happen to you."

"Why didn't you talk to me?"

"Growing up I learnt that it was better to keep everyone at a distance, because if I didn't care, then it wouldn't hurt as much when they left," Aria explained, "I guess it's just hard for me to believe that anyone, other than my brothers, would want to stick around."

"If I didn't want to stay with you, I wouldn't have asked you out and I certainly wouldn't be here trying to put things right," Romeo argued, "Just give me a chance to show you that I'm serious… I'm not going to hurt you, Aria."

"What happens when something goes down that you don't like or agree with?"

"I've been friends with you and Casey for nearly two years, I've seen how bad things can get in your family… I'm still here saying that I want to be with you."

"I'll give it a try," Aria finally agreed, listening to her heart for once and ignoring the voice in her head that was telling her not to risk it.

Sometimes the biggest risks we take are the ones with our hearts.

* * *

 **Authors Notes:** _I just want to thank **FrankElza** and **Bonnie Sveen Fan** for their feedback, it means a lot. I hope you liked this chapter, I really didn't want to make things with Romeo an ongoing drama and I also wanted to give you a little deeper look into how Aria's mind works._


	4. Chapter 4

Arriving home, Aria headed into the kitchen and found Brax sitting at the table. Kissing him on the cheek in greeting, she grabbed herself a can of soda and took a seat opposite him.

"I was thinking of having a family meal tomorrow night," Brax said as Aria took a sip of her drink, "What do you think?"

"Depends on who will be there," Aria replied.

"Me, you, Heath, Casey, Kyle, Ruby, Bianca, Ricky… possibly mom."

"That should be fun… can I invite Romeo?"

"Romeo?" Brax asked with the slightest hint of a smirk, "You sorted it out with him then?"

"We're giving it a try," Aria told him with a shrug.

"What made you change your mind?"

"Well, your advice may have helped a little, but I also realized that if I was going to take a chance with anyone, then it might as well be him," Aria explained, lowering her gaze and continuing, "I just don't want to get hurt again."

"Look at me giving advice on boys."

"Yeah, yeah, don't let it go to your head," Aria added with a grin, pushing herself to her feet, "I'm going to make myself some pasta with mayo and tuna, do you want some?"

"Please," Brax stated, washing up his cup and leaning against the counter as he continued, "So, are you in favour of having a family meal?"

"I'm in, but if mom starts I'm not going to be responsible for what comes out of my mouth," Aria warned.

"If mom starts I'll handle it," Brax promised, "If I don't at least invite her, she'll kick off and that's the last thing I need right now."

"Is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, at least, everything that you need to worry about is fine," Brax said, obviously noticing the sudden change in her expression, "You don't need to worry, why don't you finish making us some food and I'll set up a film for us to watch?"

Nodding, Aria gave him a small smile and returned to the pasta that she had put on the oven to boil. She loved that her brothers wanted to protect her and she knew that they could all take care of themselves, but that didn't stop her from worrying.

Waking up the next morning with a feeling of dread in the pit of her stomach, Aria got ready for school and headed out. She loved her brothers more than anything and being a Braxton had never been something that she was ashamed of, but her mum was a totally separate issue.

Growing up, she often watched other kids with their parents and wondered why she didn't have the bond they did with either of hers. It wasn't until she was old enough to understand that she realized she did, but the bond she had wasn't with her mom and dad… it was with Brax.

Brax did everything that a parent should, he helped with homework, made sure they ate and were keeping out of trouble. She'd never really let it bother her after that, knowing that she had her big brother to guide her as best he could and not forming much of a bond with her mom.

"Hey you," Romeo said, snapping Aria from her thoughts and returning the smile that she sent his way, "You okay?"

"I'm good, you?" Aria replied as Romeo entwined their fingers.

"Can't complain."

"I have a favour to ask."

"Shoot."

"Brax is having a family dinner tonight at Angelo's and I was hoping that you'd be able to come."

"Of course, but are you sure that it'll be alright with your brothers?" Romeo inquired.

"Brax was the one that said I could invite you, besides Bianca, Ricky and Ruby are all going to be there as well," Aria reassured him with a grin, "I promise that I'll protect you from my big bad brothers."

Making her way straight home after school, Aria got changed and headed over to the restaurant with Brax. Texting Romeo to let him know that everyone would be getting there for seven, she decided to make herself useful and helped Brax set the table.

Heath was the first to arrive with Bianca, followed a while later by Kyle and the others. Hugging Romeo as he walked in, Aria went to get him a drink and returned just as her mom turned up. It was obvious that she was drunk, but that was hardly a shock, and neither was the glare on her moms face when she spotted Aria.

"What's she doing here?" Cheryl demanded, causing Aria to roll her eyes and glance up as Heath moved to stand beside her.

"This is a family dinner, why wouldn't she be here?" Heath added angrily.

"She's not family… she was just a drunken mistake," Cheryl spat.

"It's nice to see you too mom," Aria replied sarcastically, "I have to say it's always a pleasure to hear how much you despise me, especially when I know that you mean every word you say and can't blame it on the alcohol."

"Don't get clever with me girly…"

"Leave it out, mom or go home," Brax snapped as he joined them from the kitchen, "This is supposed to be a nice family dinner, **my** family and Aria will always be a part of that."

Motioning for everyone to sit down, Aria led Romeo to some seats as far from her mom as she could and tried to focus on getting through the night.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes:** There will be more action in the next chapter I promise, this is like the calm before the storm... _


	5. Chapter 5

The rest of the dinner went by smoothly and Aria offered to stay behind to help Brax clear up, hugging Romeo as he left with Casey. She had just finished collecting the dirty plates, when the glass in the front doors shattered and three men entered wearing balaclavas. Flinching as someone grabbed her arm, Aria looked back to find Brax and allowed herself to be pulled behind him out of harm's way.

"Take what you want, but you won't find any money..." Brax told the men calmly.

"You think this is about money," one of the men replied, swinging the baseball bat he was holding and smashing the glasses that Aria had placed on there.

Grabbing her older brothers arm, Aria stepped closer to him and scream as he was torn away from her. Taking a step forward, she quickly found herself held captive by a pair of strong arms and struggled against them to get free.

"Leave her alone," Brax warned, moving towards where Aria was being restrained and doubling over as the bat connected with his gut.

"Brax," Aria shouted in panic as he straightened himself up, thrashing around and pleading for the man to stop as he sent Brax to the ground with a solid punch to the jaw, "Please stop... please."

"Just remember, Braxton," one of the other men said, "Payback is never pretty."

Dropping to her knees beside Brax as soon as she was released, Aria reached out her hand to touch his arm and quickly pulled it back again as he pushed himself to his feet with a groan.

"Are you okay?" Brax asked as he retrieved his phone from his pocket.

"I'm really not the one we should be worrying about right now; your mouth is still bleeding and that hit to your stomach wasn't exactly gentle..." Aria rambled, getting to her feet and moving towards him to check the damage, "Let me check it."

"I'm fine," Brax snapped, pushing her hand away and putting the phone to his ear.

"Okay," Aria mumbled, trying her best to hide the hurt that she felt and heading to the supply cupboard to get a broom.

She had been clearing up the glass for nearly twenty minutes, when Brax finally hung up the phone and joined her. Aria remained silent as she tipped the broken shards into the bin, feeling Brax's eyes on her and fighting the urge to look up at him.

"I'm sorry," Brax stated, breaking the silence, "I shouldn't have snapped at you."

"It doesn't matter," Aria added, although that was a lie because it did matter... it mattered to her and it hurt being pushed away by someone she loved, "When can we go home?"

"Just got to wait for someone to board up the front window," Brax explained, "I can get Heath to come get you if you don't want to hang around."

"I'll wait."

It was another hour, before someone arrived to temporarily repair the door and Aria could practically hear sleep calling her. Climbing out the Ute as Brax pulled into the driveway, Aria ignored her brothers who were watching something on television and went straight to bed.

Morning seemed to come by way too fast and Aria felt as though she hadn't slept at all, but she knew that she had to get up for school anyway. Lying on her bed for a few more minutes, she forced herself up and got dress before going to the kitchen.

"Morning," Heath greeted as she sat down at the table, causing Aria to frown, "You okay?"

"I wish people would stop asking me that," Aria said, "Why are you up anyway?"

"No reason."

"Brax made you get up to keep an eye on me, didn't he?"

"We're just worried about you."

"There's no need to be, I'm totally fine and would be even better if people stopped treating me like some fragile little kid."

"Ari..." Heath started, falling silent when Aria raised her hand to shut him up and grabbed her bag as she headed towards the door.

"Tell Brax and the others to stop worrying," Aria shouted back over her shoulder, "Love you, bro."

School flew by and Aria found herself with a mountain of homework to get through, but she really wanted to get out in the water first. Getting changed as soon as she got home, she collected her surfboard and made her way down to the beach.

"You coming out?" Xavier asked as she reached him.

"No, I thought I'd just take my board for a walk," Aria joked, causing Xavier to chuckle, "What about you? Have you been out yet?"

"Not yet."

"Need me to hold your hand?"

"I think I'll be alright, but feel free to join me out there if you think you can handle the waves," Xavier responded with a grin, jogging towards the water with Aria on his heels and they paddled out.

Letting Xavier have the first pick of waves, Aria cheered as he rode in and threw her head back laughing when she saw him take a tumble. Spotting a big set forming at the back of the bay, Aria started to paddle and was soon riding one of the bigger waves to the beach. Surfing for about an hour with Xavier, Aria decided that she'd best head home and waved goodbye to Xavier as she left.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes:** Thank you for the comments and support on this story. I'm trying really hard to show that Aria is sensitive, but that she's also able to handle herself and is a lot stronger than maybe her brothers want to believe._


	6. Chapter 6

Arriving home from the beach, Aria rested her surfboard against the wall outside the front door and went in to find Brax sitting on the sofa with Heath. Getting changed in her room, she grabbed her school bag off the floor and made her way into the kitchen.

"How was school today?" Brax asked, retrieving a beer from the fridge and leaning against the counter as he removed the bottle cap.

"School was fine," Aria replied with a frown, "What's going on?"

"Nothing," Brax told her, taking a swig of his drink and continuing, "It's just that I bumped into Miles earlier and he mentioned that you've been having a few issues with the work in his class..."

"My heads been a little preoccupied recently is all," Aria stated with a shrug, reading through the English assignment that she had to do and mentally groaning.

The truth of the matter was that she was struggling and had been for a while, but admitting that she needed help wasn't something she'd ever felt comfortable doing. Growing up, she had been taught to fight her own battles and that was exactly what she'd been trying to do with little success.

"You know you only have to say if you're having a hard time and I'll do what I can to help, but I can't do anything if you won't talk to me."

"I didn't want to be a burden," Aria mumbled, "You already have so much going on... I didn't want to add more stress."

"You are a lot of things, Ari, but the one thing you will never be to me is a burden,"Brax added, taking a seat opposite her, "Talk to me."

"I've been struggling for a while," Aria admitted in a quiet voice, keeping her gaze on the table to avoid seeing the look on Brax's face, "It's not that I don't know the answer because I do, but then I write it down on paper and it doesn't sound right..."

"Then you get frustrated with yourself and give up, because pretending that you don't know is a better option than looking like an idiot in front of your classmates."

"They already hate me," Aria confessed, noticing the flash of sadness in her brother's eyes, "I don't want to give them more ammo to use against me."

"Okay, this is what I'm going to do," Brax told her, "I'm going to talk to Miles tomorrow and see if he has any suggestions on how we can help, perhaps he'd be willing to work one on one with you."

"Thanks, Brax."

"You don't need to thank me, it's my job as your older brother to look out for you," Brax said, standing up and kissing her head as Kyle joined them with a smile in greeting, "If you're stuck, I'm sure that Kyle will be happy to lend you a hand..."

"Would you?" Aria inquired, looking at him and smiling when he nodded in response.

"What do you have to do?"

"I have to translate three Shakespearean quotes into modern day English," Aria explained, showing Kyle the sheet with the quotes on, "I think I have the first two figured out."

Spending the next hour working on her assignment with Kyle, Aria felt better about the words that she was putting on the paper and placed the finished piece in her folder without any hesitation. Hugging Kyle in thanks, Aria joined the others in the living room and curled into Heath's side as she focused on the movie they were watching.

Heading to bed early, Aria found herself waking up in the middle of the night and climbed out of bed to get a drink. Reaching her bedroom door, she froze and listened as Brax's voice reached her ears.

"I don't want to scare her, Heath."

"Neither do I, but if we're right and Pirovic is behind this, then she needs to know," Heath argued.

It had been a while, since she had heard Pirovic's name and even after two years it still sent a jolt of fear down her spine. Jake Pirovic had first made his presence known in Mangrove River, when he decided to try and screw over their dad Danny. It hadn't gone to plan, but it had ended up with Danny being arrested and Aria in hospital.

Waking up early the next morning, Aria sent a text to Andy asking him to meet her at the beach and snuck out before anyone else woke up. Spotting Andy already waiting when she arrived, she walked over to him and stood beside him.

"Everything okay?" Andy asked, glancing over at her with concern and waiting patiently for an answer.

"My brothers think that Jake Pirovic is behind the attacks on me and the restaurant, which means that this is only the beginning." Aria replied, realizing that she was shaking from the mere mention of his name, "I'm scared, Andy, but I can't tell my brothers that without them switching into overprotective mode and you were the only other person I thought of that would understand."

"What about your boyfriend?"

"What about him?" Aria added with a frown.

"Shouldn't he be the one standing here?" Andy stated, turning to look at her, "Why didn't you text him?"

"I... I just," Aria stammered, unable to piece together the right words, "You were the first person I thought of, whenever I'm upset or scared it's you that I want around... you calm me down."

Running a hand over his face, Andy pulled her into a hug and Aria relaxed into his warmth. She truly did like Romeo, but the truth was that Andy was the one that came to mind in her hour of need and that had to mean something.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes**_ _ **:** Just wanted to say a quick thank you to those who have kept up with the story so far and also to those who have left feedback... it's much appreciated. Now for a dilemma that I'm currently facing in regards to this story, I've been reading around some other Home and Away fanfics and noticed a trend with Romeo being the love interest... my question for my readers is: Do I stick with Romeo or do I have Aria realize that she has feeling for Andy Barrett? _


	7. Chapter 7

Returning home after a long conversation with Andy, Aria got ready for school and happily accepted Brax's offer of a lift. Staring out the window as they drove towards the school, she decided to bring up the topic of Jake Pirovic and took a deep breath as she turned to look at her brother.

"I know that you suspect that Jake Pirovic is the one behind our problems," she said, noticing that Brax didn't seem surprised by the fact that she knew, "Does that mean he's back in the Bay?"

"He's been back for a while," Brax admitted, keeping his gaze on the road, "Everything's been quiet and I didn't tell you because I didn't want to scare you, but we all know that he's always held a grudge against dad."

"Danny's in prison though," Aria added, frowning when Brax tensed and feeling dread wash over her at what that reaction indicated, "Brax... Danny is still in prison, right?"

"He was released last month," Brax told her, "Good behavior or something, but nobody has heard from him."

"Is there anything else that you haven't told me?" Aria asked, starting to feel as though she knew absolutely nothing, "Brax..."

"I swear that there's nothing else," Brax replied, pulling up outside the school and stopping her before she could open the door, "I get that you're probably mad at me for not telling you, but I was just doing what I thought was best and I'm not going to apologise for that."

"Can I go now?"

"Yeah, have a good day and try to learn something."

Climbing out the Ute, Aria slammed the door closed and waved as she made her way inside. Dumping her things in her locker, she headed to her music class and took her seat at the back of the room.

The school day seemed to drag, but finally, lunch came around and Aria went to meet her friends in the cafeteria. Grabbing herself some food, she kissed Casey's cheek in greeting and took a seat beside him.

"Are you okay?" Casey inquired, watching her with a frown as she absent-mindedly pushed her food around her tray and nudging her leg when she didn't answer.

"I'm fine," Aria lied, dropping the fork and smiling at her brother, "I heard Rubes talking about the dance earlier, she seems really excited..."

"That makes one of us, what about you?"

"Me?" Aria stated, looking at him as if he'd just asked a stupid question, "Why would I want to go to some stupid dance?"

"Have you never been to a school dance?" April added from beside her.

"I went to one back in Mangrove."

"Did you have a good time?"

"It lasted for about half an hour, before some of the boys started fighting and completely trashed the venue," Aria told them, noticing the look of pure shock on April and Dexter's faces, "I ended up with a broken nose, a black eye and had to spend the night in hospital."

"I remember that, Heath and Brax nearly killed a couple of the River Boys because they were the ones who started everything."

"Wow," April mumbled, "I knew that Mangrove River was rough, but..."

"The thing about the Mangrove kids is that they aren't brought up, they're dragged up," Aria explained, "We were lucky, we had Brax... he brought us up and kept us out of trouble. I at least like to think that we're nothing like them, but Mangrove will always be where our roots lie and we'll always be placed in the same box as them as well."

Lunch flew by and before she knew it, Aria was sitting in her final lesson of the day. Listening to Mr. Copeland talk about the story they had just read, she realized that Romeo was staring at her and fixed him with a questioning look.

"So, after reading about all the good that the prince has done and all the people that he has helped, what is the prince at the end of the day?" Mr. Copeland asked, scanning the room for volunteers and finally stopping when his gaze landed on Aria, "Miss. Braxton, since nobody else seems to have the answer I'm looking for... why don't you have a go."

"He's just a prince."

"Please elaborate on that answer."

"Just because he acts like a king and sees himself as a king, doesn't mean he is one," Aria said, "He's royal standing in the eyes of the people will always be a prince, until he takes over from his father and is crowned king. Prince may only be a title, but some titles hold a lot of power behind them and he won't be seen as anything more because of it."

"Good job, you expressed your opinion clearly and you explained it in a way that it could be understood."

Collecting the homework assignment as she left, she met Casey outside and jumped on his back as they headed to the surf club. Noticing the absence of Romeo, Aria lowered herself to the ground and pulled out her phone.

 _'Going to the surf club with the gang, are you coming?'_

 **'Giving it a miss, perhaps you could ask Andy if he wants to go...'**

 _'Maybe I will, after all, that's what friends do... an attitude check might not go amiss in your case.'_

Putting her phone back in her pocket, she made the decision to deal with Romeo another day and concentrated on having some fun with her friends.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes** : Thanks for reading! Just a little insight into Aria's time in Mangrove River and a little drama... :)_


	8. Chapter 8

Setting up the pool table while Casey went to get drinks with Dexter, Aria grabbed a couple of cues from the rack and handed one to Xavier who took his shot.

"Is Romeo meeting us here?" Casey asked as he joined them, handing over her milkshake and frowning when Aria shrugged in reply, "Where is he?"

"Somewhere getting an attitude adjustment," Aria replied as she struck the white ball, "I didn't have the right tools for the job."

"Issues?"

"I don't know what's wrong with him," Aria told him, "I sent him a text asking if he was coming with us, and he replied with some snarky comment about inviting Andy instead."

"Sounds like he's jealous," Dexter added.

"Why would he be jealous of me and Andy though?" Aria inquired, genuinely confused, "I've given him no reason to be jealous."

"I guess it's a guy thing, maybe he just needs reassurance about everything... guys get insecure too."

"I'm not going to justify my friendship with every guy I know," Aria argued, "He'd brush it off as me being stupid if I acted the way he is."

Heading home after a few games, Aria wandered along the beach and froze when she spotted Jake leaning against the fence ahead of her.

"If it isn't baby Braxton," he said, smirking as Aria moved to walk past him and grabbing her arm, "Don't be like that, I just want to talk to you..."

"About what?"

"Your dad."

"What about him?"

"Well, I heard that he's been released from prison and you know that we have unfinished business."

"When it comes to any business that you have with Danny, you're talking to the wrong person," Aria told him, "I haven't heard from him since he got locked up and I don't really expect to."

"I find it hard to believe that he hasn't tried to contact you or one of your brothers," Jake stated, releasing her arm and looking behind her as he spoke, "We'll finish this chat some other time."

Frowning at Jake's sudden change in demeanor, Aria glanced over her shoulder and spotted Brax making his way towards the water with Heath. Not wanting to cause a scene on the beach, she decided to tell them about her encounter with Pirovic after their surf and headed home.

Raiding the cupboards to find the ingredients she needed for dinner, Aria put together a lasagna from scratch and had just placed it in the oven to cook when her brothers walked through the door.

"What's cooking?" Heath asked, grabbing himself and Brax a beer.

"Lasagna," Aria replied, "Thought it'd be nice to have a homecooked meal."

"Sounds great, how was school today?" Brax added.

"School was school... nothing interesting happened," Aria told him, "I did have a run in with Pirovic on my way home though."

"Did he hurt you?" Heath demanded, putting his beer down and waiting expectantly for Aria's answer.

"No, he just wanted information on dad's whereabouts," Aria explained, "I told him that I hadn't heard from him, then he spotted you two and left. Has anyone heard from dad?"

"Not directly, but mom mentioned that he's been at the house on and off," Brax said, leaning against the counter and hesitating momentarily before continuing, "He does want to see us though, according to mom..."

"Why?" Aria inquired with a frown.

"He is our dad, Ari," Heath replied, causing Aria to scoff and shake her head, "What?"

"Danny has never been a dad, just like mom has never been a mom... at least not to me."

"Ari..." Brax started.

"It's the truth, Brax... I gave up on the stupid idea that he would change a long time ago and I don't want anything to do with him."

"Isn't there questions that you want answers to?" Heath inquired as Aria opened the oven door to check the lasagna.

"Plenty, but he's never going to answer them honestly and I'm not going to fool myself into thinking that he will."

"Ari..." Heath started.

"Heath, just leave it alone," Brax added, holding his hand up as Heath opened his mouth to speak, "Do me a favor and go find your brothers, I want everyone sat around the table by the time dinner is ready."

Hesitating for a few seconds, Heath eventually did as he was asked and left to hunt down the others. Knowing that Brax had something to say, Aria closed the oven and turned to look at him.

"You could have just sent Casey and Kyle a text, you know?" Aria said, collecting plates and cutlery ready for dishing up.

"I know, but I just wanted to let you know that it's okay if you do want to see dad."

"I've made my decision, I don't want to see him," Aria replied, "He doesn't get to do that again... he doesn't get to walk back into my life after all the bad that he's done and expect to get another chance."

"Heath seems to believe that prison has changed him this time around."

"Then that's great, but I don't want anything to do with him," Aria mumbled, "I spent too much time growing up, watching him walk away and I can't do it again. You've always been there when I've needed you, but, because of him, I'm always wondering when you're going to leave and I have to go through it all again."

"I'm..." Brax started, falling silent as Heath walked in with Casey and Kyle in tow, "We'll talk about that later."

Dishing up the lasagna, Aria took a seat at the table and tried her best to avoid Brax's eyes. What she told him was something that she never wanted to admit, but she needed him to understand the reason behind her decision and in a weird way she knew that her fear of being left would do that.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes:**_ _Just_ because _Aria is strong, doesn't mean that she doesn't have fears and weaknesses... Pirovic has arrived and things are about to get dangerous! Thank you for reading!_


	9. Chapter 9

Wanting to avoid her brothers, Aria headed to the diner for breakfast the next morning and had just ordered when Dexter walked in with his dad.

"Hey," he greeted with a smile, "I didn't think you knew that this time of the morning actually existed."

"Only when I'm avoiding people," Aria mumbled, thanking Leah as she paid and turning her attention back to her friend, "What about you?"

"Early breakfast with my dad, he's working nights at the hospital and so I don't get to see him all that much," Dexter explained, "You do know that this is probably the worst evasion effort I've ever seen... I mean, everybody comes here."

"I admit that it wasn't the smartest decision, but I was hungry," Aria told him, causing him to chuckle and shake his head, "Anyway, have a nice breakfast with your dad and I will see you in school."

Not ready to head home, Aria decided to eat on the beach and watched as the waves washed over the sand by her feet. Finishing her food, she made her way back to the house to get ready for school and entered the kitchen to find Romeo sitting with Casey.

"Where did you go so early?" Casey asked as she put her books in her bag.

"I went to the diner for breakfast," Aria replied with a shrug, slipping on her jacket and slinging her bag over her shoulder.

"Alone?" Romeo added.

"Yes, alone and if you don't believe me then you can ask Dex or Leah," Aria snapped, storming out of the house and slamming the door behind her.

The school day seemed to drag, but finally, the bell rang and Aria left before anyone could stop her. Bumping into Brax as she let herself into the house, she muttered an apology and locked herself away in her room.

"Ari," Brax called through the door as he tapped gently on it, "Can I come in?"

"Sure," Aria stated, turning off her music and putting her homework to one side, "What's up?"

"I was going to ask you that, is everything okay?"

"Everything is fine, why do you ask?"

"I heard you snap at Romeo and storm out of the house this morning is all," Brax said, taking a seat on the bed, "I also wanted to finish what we were talking about last night, do you really think that I would leave you?

"I don't know, all I seem to do is upset people and make them hate me," Aria mumbled, "Mom hates me, Romeo thinks that I'm up to no good with Andy and Heath is mad because I won't give dad another chance to screw up my life... I don't know what's wrong with me, Brax?"

"Ari, there's nothing wrong with you."

"Then why do I feel like such a huge disappointment?" Aria added, lowering her gaze to her hands and continuing, "Why does it seem that in the end, everyone leaves me?"

"You've never disappointed me... ever and I'm not planning on going anywhere," Brax stated, "There will be a point somewhere along the line that I'm going to want to get my own place, but I wouldn't be far away and it would only ever take a phone call to bring me right back."

"I know that it doesn't get said often, but I love you, Brax and I'm grateful for everything that you do for me."

"I love you too, kid, now why don't you take a break from your homework and come help me make dinner."

Nodding, she got up and followed him out into the kitchen. Finding some burgers in the bottom of the freezer, Brax decided to grill them and stood in the garden talking to Aria about school.

"When is Heath going to see dad?" Aria inquired as she threw together a salad.

"Later on tonight," Brax told her, "I think Casey and Kyle are going as well."

"What about you?"

"I'm going to go along with them, just to make sure that dad doesn't try any of his old tricks..."

"I smell burgers," came Heath's voice as he walked through the front door with Kyle in tow.

"They won't be long," Brax announced, giving Aria a smile and heading outside to finish cooking.

Finishing the salad, Aria set the table ready to eat and took a seat as Brax returned a short while later with the burgers. Eating in silence, she listened to her brother's talk and decided that she would go with them to see their dad.

She knew that he would never change and she'd accepted that a long time ago, but perhaps she needed to go for her. Perhaps seeing him and reminding herself of who he was would allow her to close that chapter of her life, or maybe she'd finally get some answers.

"I'll go with you to see dad," Aria said, causing her brothers to fall silent and turn their attention to her.

"You don't have to, Ari," Brax replied.

"I know, but I think I need to do it and I'd rather face him with you than by myself."

"It's your choice," Brax added, earning a nod from Aria and returning to his dinner.

It was late by the time they headed back to Mangrove River and Aria was nervous, but she would never show her dad that. Climbing out of Brax's Ute, she joined him outside their mom's house and stuck close to her oldest brother as they headed inside.

* * *

 **Author's Notes** : _Hey just wanted to apologize for the wait, life got crazy lol, but I am back! Thanks for reading_


	10. Chapter 10

As soon as they entered the house, Aria could smell the alcohol and swallowed nervously as memories from her childhood resurfaced. Hearing Danny's voice, she instinctively stepped closer to Brax and looked at him as he placed his hands on her shoulders.

Coming to a stop just inside the door, she let Brax passed and fought against the panic that had crept into her stomach. Seeing him brought back a mixture of strong emotions, but fear was prominent above all else and Aria hated that he could still evoke such a reaction from her.

"I'm glad that you all decided to come," Danny said, handing Heath and Brax a beer as Cheryl joined them, "You youngsters have grown up."

"That's what happens when you're not around," Brax replied, earning a glare from Cheryl and rolling his eyes at her, "What are you doing here, dad?"

"I just wanted to see my kids, that's all..." Danny told them, "I know that you're all angry at me and I deserve every ounce of it, but I'm trying to start over. All I'm asking is that you give me one last chance to prove that I can be a better person..."

"Why now?" Casey added, "You've spent the majority of our childhood in and out of prison, what's so different about this time?"

"Nothing is different, but now is all I have," Danny stated with a shrug, "I can't change the past, but I can change the person that I am and try to make up for the hell I put you all through."

Not believing a word of what Danny was saying, Aria stood in silence and waited to see what her brothers would do.

"Doesn't look like you've changed much to me," Kyle replied, drawing Aria's attention to him, "You claim to want to change and that's great, but they're just drunken words."

"Let me prove it to you then."

Having heard everything before, Aria left without a word and leaned against Brax's Ute to wait. Looking up as she heard the door, she spotted Kyle approaching her and smiled.

"If it makes you feel better, I don't want anything to do with him either..."

"It's not about that," Aria mumbled as Kyle stood next to her, "You guys can do whatever you want, but I've heard everything that he just said before and nothing ever changes."

"Heath seems to believe it."

"Heath just wants his dad in his life and I get it, but I haven't needed him or Cheryl for a long time now," Aria admitted with a shrug, "Can you let Brax know that I've gone home?"

"Of course," Kyle replied, "Be careful."

Nodding, she hugged him and headed home. Lying on her bed, she heard her phone chime and pulled it out to find a text from Andy.

' **Hey, how are you?** '

' _Been better, are you busy?_ ' Aria replied.

' **No, why, what's up?** '

' _Meet me at the beach in half an hour?_ '

' **I'll be there.** '

Thinking about Romeo, Aria found that she didn't feel guilty for not reaching out to him and grabbed a jacket as she went to meet Andy. Romeo was a great guy and she didn't doubt that he would be there for her if she needed him, but he could never understand what she was feeling. Spotting Andy already waiting as she arrived, she pulled her jacket closer around her body and made her way over to him.

"Hey," she greeted, offering him a small smile as he looked over at her, "Thanks for coming."

"You know I'm always here, despite knowing that your boyfriend is going to be pissed," Andy replied.

"What do you mean?" Aria asked with a frown.

"He may have had a word with me about our friendship," Andy admitted with a shrug, "Turns out that he's not too keen on the idea of us hanging out."

"I can't believe him," Aria added angrily, turning to leave and stopping when Andy gently grabbed her arm.

"He's just looking out for you and I get it because I'd do the same."

"That doesn't give him the right to go around acting as if he owns me," Aria argued, relaxing a little under Andy's touch, "He doesn't get to decide who I spend time with..."

"I'm still here," Andy told her, "Now, forget about him and tell me what's going on?"

"Danny's back in the bay," Aria mumbled as they walked along the sand, "I went with the others to see him, thinking that maybe it would help, but it only dragged up emotions that I thought were long gone and I don't know how to handle it."

"Seeing him must have been rough, especially after how things went down last time," Andy replied, glancing over at her and continuing, "You don't actually want to talk about it though, right?"

"Not really."

"Okay then," Andy said, coming to a stop and turning to face her, "Tell me what you do want to do then?"

Looking into his concern filled eyes, Aria allowed her heart to control her actions and kissed him. Feeling her phone vibrate in her pocket, she retrieved it and answered as Brax's name flashed across the screen.

"Hey, Brax."

' _Where are you?_ ' Brax inquired, trying to keep the hint of panic from his voice and failing.

"I just went for a walk," Aria told him, glancing back at Andy, "Needed to clear my head."

' _Don't stay out too late._ '

"I'm on my way home now."

Hanging up, she put her phone back in her pocket and tried to figure out what to say. Stepping forward without a word, Andy lifted her chin and pressed a quick kiss against her lips.

"I don't know what this is, but we need to talk about it and you need to figure out what you want," Andy stated, backing off slightly as Aria nodded in agreement, "Come on, I'll walk you home."

"Thanks."


	11. Chapter 11

Arriving home, Aria let herself in and chucked her keys on the side. Grabbing herself a can of soda from the fridge, she joined her brothers in front of the television and got comfortable as Brax wrapped his arm around her.

"Family dinner at Angelo's tomorrow," Heath told her without looking away from the movie that was playing on the screen.

"Sounds great," Aria mumbled sarcastically.

Leaving the house early the next morning to get to school, Aria decided to take a detour across the beach and stopped when she heard Romeo call her name.

"Can we talk?" He asked as he caught up.

"I really don't have the energy to argue with you today."

"I'm not here to argue," Romeo promised, tightening his grip on the strap of his bag and lowering his gaze, "Look, this isn't going to work and... I just think that we're better off as friends."

Standing in silence for a few seconds, Aria nodded to show that she had heard him and watched as he walked away. Not wanting to face her friends' questions, she went home and sent Casey a text to tell him that she wasn't feeling well.

Hearing the front door a few hours later, Aria looked up from where she was lying on the sofa and offered Brax a small smile.

"Bianca said that you weren't in school."

"Yeah, I wasn't feeling all that good."

"Another migraine?" Brax inquired, earning a nod from Aria and pulling out his phone, "I'll let Bianca know that you'll be back tomorrow, do you need anything?"

"Will you make me a hot chocolate?"

"Only if you put a decent film on."

Nodding, Aria got up and browsed through their DVD collection. Pulling out the first Lethal Weapon, she set it up and curled into her big brother's side as the movie began to play. Sitting in Angelo's later that evening, Aria listened as Kyle played around with his guitar and smiled when she recognized what he was playing.

"Finding refuge in my own lies, how are you, I'm doing alright. Small talk is a great disguise, just let me be, just let me be," Aria sung, causing Brax and Heath to fall silent as they turned to look at her, "Empty thoughts start to crowd my mind, am I only living, living to survive? Shake it off but I've lost the drive, just let me be, just let me be, let me be, okay."

Falling silent as the doors opened, she watched as Cheryl walked in with Danny and felt the familiar anxiety settle in her chest. Taking a sip of her drink, she took a deep breath and returned her attention to the music that Kyle was playing.

"You've built yourself a great place here, Daryl," Danny commented, looking around and accepting the beer that Heath offered him.

"We've done a pretty good job," Brax replied, motioning to the others with pride clear in his eyes, "Couldn't have done it without their help."

"Aria, how's school going?" Danny added.

"Fine," she answered, hearing Cheryl scoff and looking up with a frown.

"Fine?" Cheryl repeated, "You're having to have extra lessons because you're too thick to do the work... I hardly call that fine."

"Aria's got dyslexia like Casey, but she's not letting it hold her back and she's doing really well," Brax stated, fixing their mom with a glare, "They're both doing great."

Grabbing her sketchpad from behind the bar, Aria sat took a seat on one of the tall stools and turned to a clean page. By the time food was ready, Aria had finished the drawing she had started and took a seat next to Kyle to eat.

Bianca had been the one to suggest drawing, especially when she didn't know how to express how she was feeling and it had helped a lot. Eating in silence, she listened to everyone talking around her and helped Kyle take the dirty plates to the kitchen once they were done.

"I don't know how to connect with her," she heard Danny say as she approached the door that led into the restaurant, "She's my daughter and she will hardly even look at me..."

"What do you expect?" Brax replied angrily, "You may think that she was too young to remember the things that you did to us, but I can assure you that she remembers everything and she still struggles with the effect it had on her on a daily basis."

"How do I fix it?"

"That's something that only Aria can answer."

Exiting the kitchen, Aria went to get herself another glass of coke and sat at the bar alone. Watching as Kyle played on his guitar again, she turned to the next clean page of her sketchpad and started drawing.

"Hey," came Casey's voice from behind her, making her jump, "What are you doing?"

"Robbing candy stores, you?"

"Just robbed a bank... be my getaway driver?" Casey replied as he always did with a grin, "Romeo was avoiding me today, any idea why?"

"He probably thinks that you're going to kill him," Aria said with a shrug, sighing when Casey looked at her confused, "He dumped me."

"He..." Casey started, falling silent when Aria covered his mouth with her hand and continued.

"It wasn't going to work and deep down I knew that," Aria admitted, "Romeo is a good guy and he's been a great friend to you, Case, so don't give him a hard time about it."


	12. Chapter 12

Sitting in her room the next day, Aria stared down at the keyboard that Brax had bought her a few Christmas' before and ran her fingers across the keys. It had been a while since she had played, but her music teacher had asked the class to perform something and she really wanted to get at least one good grade.

Studying the sheet music for the song she had chosen, she started playing and smiled as it seemed to come to her naturally. Like riding a bike, she thought to herself, stopping at the end of the verse and returning to the beginning.

"I have no heart

Just ice and stone

Made up of nails

And teeth and bone

And I know exactly what I'm for

To hurt and destroy

And nothing more

And if it's true that I was made

I still don't know if I can change."

Singing the first verse through, Aria continued straight onto the chorus and added the lyrics as well.

"But something has stirred

A beast has awakened

Opened a door

There's no mistaking

Waging a war

It's fighting inside of me

So hear my battle cry

I'm out for blood to claim what's mine

Finally

Questioning

If I am my own worst

I am my own worst

I am my own worst enemy"

Hearing someone knock on the door, Aria looked up to find Ricky watching her and smiled.

"Can I come in?" Ricky asked, earning a nod from Aria and taking a seat on the bed, "That sounded really good."

"Thanks," Aria replied with a smile.

"I heard about you and Romeo, do you want to talk about it?"

"What's there to talk about?" Aria inquired with a shrug, "He thinks that we're better off as friends and I agree..."

"Doesn't stop it hurting though, right?"

Shaking her head, Aria felt her bottom lip tremble as she fought back her tears and let them fall when Ricky pulled her into a hug. Letting her emotions out, she felt some of the stress lift from her chest and stayed in Ricky's embrace until she had no tears left to cry.

"I'm sorry," Aria mumbled, sitting up and wiping away the tears that were on her face.

"We've all been in this type of situation, baby girl," Ricky promised, "It's nothing that a movie and some ice cream can't fix though, come on."

Taking Ricky's hand, Aria followed her into the living room where Bianca and Ruby were waiting. Smiling over at her, Ruby patted the seat next to her and Aria sat down.

"The boys headed out for a guy's night, so we decided that a girl's night was exactly what you needed," Bianca explained, kissing the side of Aria's head and nudging her shoulder.

"Us girls have to stick together," Ruby added.

Nodding in agreement, Aria settled in and smiled as Ricky handed her a tub of her favorite ice cream. Focusing on the screen as Bianca pressed play, Aria realized that they were watching Twilight and relaxed into her seat.

Finishing the movie, Ruby left with Bianca and Aria decided to tackle some of her homework. Looking up from the kitchen table as her brothers returned home, she smiled at them in greeting and focused back on her work.

"What you working on, Nugget?" Heath asked.

"Just English homework," Aria replied with a shrug.

"Need any help?" Kyle added as he walked over to take a look.

"I think I got it, but could you check it over for me?"

"Of course," Kyle agreed, taking a seat and reading through what she had written, "This is really good."

Smiling, Aria packed everything away and headed to bed. Waking up the following morning, she put the sheet music for the song she wanted to sing into her bag and smiled as she joined the others at the table for breakfast.

Accepting the offer of a lift from Brax, Aria said goodbye and followed him out to his Ute. The school day dragged and she found her anxiety growing as the final lesson approached, knowing that all eyes would be on her as she performed. Sitting at the piano, she took a deep breath and performed as if she were alone in her room.

"Good job," Liam said as she played the final note, teaching the rest of the class and holding her back as the bell rang to signal the end of the school day, "That performance was something that I've never seen from you before, have you ever thought about entering the Summer Bay Talent Festival?"

"Kyle tried to convince me to sign up for it last year, but... I'm nowhere near good enough," Aria told him.

"You most definitely are good enough," Liam argued, retrieving an application form from his desk and handing it to her, "All you need to work on is your confidence and I can help you with that, but it's your choice at the end of the day."

"I'll think about it," Aria promised, taking the form and smiling as she left.

Exiting the school, Aria realized that her friends had already left and froze slightly as she spotted Pirovic waiting nearby. Knowing that she had no choice but to walk past, she swallowed nervously and made her way home.

"Looks like daddy is planning to stick around," Jake commented as he fell into step beside her, "Of course, that leaves me with a problem because Danny and I have unfinished business..."

"Then go take it up with him and quit bothering me," Aria snapped angrily, unable to reel it in and turning to face Jake as it boiled over into pure rage, "Do you know how pathetic you look? You're a grown ass man with a reputation for being violent and yet, here you are harassing a teenage girl..."

Turning to walk away, Aria was stopped when Jake grabbed her arm and slammed her against the wall.

"If your dad doesn't fix things and fast, then I may need to up my effort to get what I want," Jake whispered, letting her go as a group of students emerged from the school, "I'll be starting with you, Aria, so I suggest you start working on getting me my money and quick."

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes:**_ _Just want to say thank you to everyone reading this and for the comments!_


	13. Chapter 13

Returning home, Aria went straight to her room and sat on the bed with her knees pulled up to her chest. Feeling her chest constrict, she fought to get her breathing under control and allowed the fear to take over.

Tears rolled down her face as panic set in and she closed her eyes, feeling her entire body tremble. Hearing the front door, Aria opened her mouth to reply as Brax called her name and closed it again when she realized that she couldn't muster the energy to reply.

"Ari, I need you to help out at the restaurant tonight," Brax said, pausing in the doorway as he saw the state she was in and approaching the bed, "What's wrong?"

"I..." Aria mumbled, her voice broken and vulnerable.

"Hey," Brax stated, gently taking her hand and placing it on his chest over his heart, "Slow, deep breaths... I'm right here."

Closing her eyes again, Aria focused on Brax's heartbeat under her palm and slowly managed to gain control of her breathing. Feeling Brax shift positions to sit beside her, she automatically curled into his side and relaxed as he wrapped his arm around her shoulders.

"What happened?" Brax asked, resting his chin on her head and waiting silently for her to answer.

"Pirovic was outside the school and he..." Aria mumbled, feeling Brax tense and falling silent.

"What did he do?"

"I tried to ignore him, but he grabbed me by the arm and slammed me against the wall," Aria told him, "He said that if dad doesn't fix things and give him back his money, then he'll have to up his efforts to get it... starting with me."

"Did he hurt you?" Brax added, keeping his voice calm and soft.

"My back hurts a little, but that's it."

Nodding, Brax tightened his hold around Aria's shoulders and kissed her head. Watching as Brax left the room once Aria had calmed right down, she got changed out of her uniform and made her way into the kitchen.

"Are you okay to help out at Angelo's tonight?" Brax inquired.

"Yeah," Aria replied, "Do I have time to go for a surf first?"

"That's fine," Brax agreed reluctantly, "Be careful."

Nodding, she grabbed her board and made her way down to the beach. Scanning the water, Aria headed straight out and sat on her board. Closing her eyes, she focused on the rise and fall of the water, allowing herself to relax.

Being out on the water gave Aria a strange sense of safety, a control that she didn't have on land and it was somewhere that she wholeheartedly felt she belonged. Opening her eyes a while later, she waited for the perfect set of waves to form and started paddling back towards shore.

"Looking good out there," a familiar voice commented as she dried herself off slightly, causing her to look up and smile as Andy approached her.

"Thanks."

"How're you doing?" Andy asked.

"I'm good," she lied, not wanting him to worry, "You?"

"Yeah, can't complain..." Andy added, "Listen, do you have time to talk?"

"Of course, what's up?"

"Nothing, we just haven't spoken since we kissed... I started to think that you were avoiding me."

"No," Aria replied instantly, "Of course not, I was just trying to sort my head out and figure out what I was feeling."

"Any luck?"

"Deep down I already knew how I felt, but it scared me..." Aria answered, finally ready to be honest with Andy and herself, "My feelings for you have always been more than just friendship, but everything is new and I'm not sure how to deal with it."

"It's up to you, but just know that those feelings are mutual..."

"Can we just take things slow?" Aria inquired, earning a nod from Andy and smiling as he pulled her into a hug, "I need to head home and get ready to help out at Angelo's."

Arranging to meet Andy for lunch the next day, Aria kissed his cheek and walked home with a smile on her face. Taking a shower, she got ready for her shift and arrived at Angelo's early. Remembering that it was singles night, Aria grabbed a tray of food and started circulating. Sitting at the bar on break an hour later, she scanned the crowd of people and sighed when she spotted her dad walk in with Cheryl.

"Want to do a song?" Kyle asked, motioning to his guitar and the small stage that had been set up.

"Sure," Aria said, following Kyle and taking a deep breath as she stepped up onto the stage with her brother.

"What song do you want to do?"

"A thousand years?" Aria suggested, earning a nod from Kyle and noticing that everyone was now watching them expectantly.

Looking over at Kyle as he tuned his guitar, she shifted her gaze to the bar and locked eyes with Brax who gave her an encouraging nod. Swallowing nervously, she nodded at Kyle to show that she was ready and listened as he started playing.

The room slowly fell silent as she started singing, losing herself in the song and the knowledge that Kyle was at her side. Smiling over at him as he joined in on the chorus, she watched him as he played effortlessly and made a decision. She was going to enter the Summer Bay Talent Festival, she was going to take a leap of faith and try something that sent fear through her... she needed to face it.

* * *

 _ **Authors Notes**_ **:** _I really struggled with this chapter... I wanted to show Brax' brotherly instinct and not have him fly of the handle (That will happen though) in front of an already vulnerable Aria (I hope that came across). They say that you should do one thing each day that scares you... well, Aria just did two! Thanks to everyone that is still invested in this story :)_


	14. Chapter 14

Glad that it was the weekend, Aria got ready and headed over to the diner to meet Andy. Walking in, she spotted him already waiting at a table and went to join him.

"Hey," Andy said with a smile as she sat down.

"Hey yourself."

Ordering their food, they ate and then made their way down to the beach. They were talking about the Summer Bay Talent Festival, when Aria heard someone call her name and turned around to see Charlie walking towards them.

"What can I do for you, sergeant Buckton?" Aria asked politely.

"I need you to come with me," Charlie replied, causing Aria to frown, "I'm placing you under arrest on suspicion of vandalism and assault.

"What?"

Looking over at Andy as Charlie placed her in cuffs, Aria felt fear rise in her chest and allowed herself to be put in the back of the police cruiser. The ride over to the station was silent and Charlie led her into a small room, leaving her alone while she went to ring Brax.

"Is Brax coming?" Aria mumbled as Charlie returned, swallowing past the lump that had formed in her throat and trying to stay calm.

"He's on his way," Charlie replied, taking a seat opposite her and looking up as one of her colleagues joined them, "I need to ask you some questions, where were you Wednesday night around nine?"

"At home doing homework like always."

"Do you recognize this?" Charlie inquired, showing Aria a picture and waiting for an answer.

"No."

Glancing over at the door as someone knocked, Charlie disappeared and came back a few minutes later with an angry looking Brax in tow.

"Aria, let's go..." Brax instructed, motioning for Aria to leave and placing his hands on her shoulders.

"We still need to ask your sister a few more questions," Charlie's colleague added as he blocked the doorway.

"You shouldn't have been asking my sister anything without myself present," Brax argued, "So, I suggest that you move out of our way and let me take her home."

"Let them go," Charlie ordered.

Climbing into Brax's Ute, Aria stared out the window as they drove home and followed him inside. Sat in the kitchen, she looked up as Brax took a seat opposite her and pushed a cup of hot chocolate across the table.

"I'm sorry," Aria mumbled after a long silence.

"What have you got to be sorry about?"

"I know how hard you try to keep us out of trouble, but I swear that I didn't do anything, Brax..."

"Hey," Brax stated, waiting until Aria looked at him and continuing, "I've never had to try to keep you out of trouble, Aria and I know that you didn't do whatever it is that they were accusing you of."

"Why are people so quick to accuse us of stuff?"

"We have a reputation for being trouble and that's what people expect from us, when in fact we do the things we do in order to protect each other... to look out for one another."

Pulling out her phone, Aria sent Andy a quick text to let him know that she was okay and decided to head over to the diner to tackle her homework as her brothers arrived home. Walking in, she greeted a few of the river boys with a smile and sat down at an empty table. She had been working for nearly an hour, when someone placed a milkshake in front of her and sat down.

"Need any help?" Heath asked as Aria looked up at him.

"Not really, but the company of my big brother would be nice," Aria replied.

"I can do that," Heath agreed with a smile, "Brax told us what happened, are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Aria told him, shifting her attention to the doors and spotting Danny.

"Hey," Danny greeted as he approached them, slapping Heath on the back and sitting down, "I was thinking that we could go surfing or something, what do you think?"

"I'm in, Aria?" Heath said.

"No thanks, I'm busy here..."

"That's okay, maybe another time," Danny added, waiting for Heath to finish his drink and following him out of the diner.

 _So much for keeping me company_ , Aria thought, shaking her head and continuing the assignment she had started. It was another hour, before she gave up and made her way home.

The house was empty when she got there, but she knew that the others would soon be home and put some dinner in the oven to cook. Sat on the floor with her keyboard a while later, Aria worked on the song that she wanted to perform at the festival and ate her food.

"What are you working on?" Kyle inquired as he walked through the front door.

"A song for the Summer Bay Talent Festival."

"Seriously, you're entering?"

"Yep... there's food in the kitchen."

"Great, I'm starving."

Aria knew that Kyle was excited for her, but she was glad that he didn't make a huge deal out of it and left her to get on with it by herself. She had just figured out the melody, when Heath entered the house with blood trickling down his face and a soon to be black eye.

"What happened to you?"

"Nothing..."

"Well that's convincing," Aria replied, rolling her eyes and pulling him into the kitchen by his hand, "Sit..."

She knew that it had something to do with her dad, but Heath refused to tell her what happened and disappeared as soon as she finished cleaning him up.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_ : Finally back! Hoping to get back into the swing of writing... it's been a rough time!


	15. Chapter 15

Sat on the beach a few days later, Aria focused on the art project she'd started and looked up as raised voices caught her attention. She couldn't say that she was surprised, when she spotted some of the River boys arguing with John Palmer and shook her head as John stormed off. Heading to Angelo's a while later, Aria walked in to find Brax sat at the bar and went to join him.

"Hey," he greeted as she took a seat next to him, "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I was down on the beach doing some homework and thought I'd come to see if you needed help," Aria replied.

"Deliveries due in about half an hour," Brax told her, glancing up from his paperwork and frowning at the way Aria was playing with the bottom of her shirt, "What's wrong?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"Of course."

"I've decided to enter the Summer Bay Talent Festival and Liam gave me an entrance form, but I need a parent to sign it," Aria explained, retrieving the form from her bag and placing it on the bar, "Do you think it would be okay if you signed it?"

"I'm sure it'll be fine."

Taking the form, Brax gave it a quick once over and signed it without hesitation. The delivery soon arrived and Aria helped sort it out, before heading to the Surf club to meet Andy.

"Hey beautiful," Andy greeted, chuckling when Aria looked around with a frown and pulling her into a hug.

"Oh, you're talking to me," Aria replied with a smile, wrapping her arms around his neck and pressing a kiss to his lips.

"Fancy a game of pool?"

"Sure," Aria agreed.

They had just started their second game, when Jake walked in with a few of his boys and took a seat at a nearby table. Just being near him put her on edge, but she wouldn't let him see that and simply focused on the game.

"I'm sure that you're cheating," Andy accused playfully, when Aria potted the black ball for the second time and threw her hands in the air with a grin.

"Awww, I'm sorry," Aria stated, "Would you like another shot?"

"How about you treat me to a cheeseburger at the diner?"

"Come on, you drongo," Aria teased, smiling as Andy took her hand and entwined their fingers.

Once they had eaten, Andy headed off to meet Josh and Aria made her way home. Letting herself in, she walked towards the kitchen and froze momentarily as she spotted Heath lying in a puddle of his own blood on the floor.

Rushing to his side, she put pressure on the stab wound to his stomach and called for help. Traveling to the hospital with him in the ambulance, Aria watched as he was rushed through a set of double doors and took a seat in the waiting room as tears streamed down her face.

Staring at Heath's blood on her hands, Aria heard the sound of Brax's voice and stepped out into the corridor to find him standing with Ricky.

"Ari," he said, rushing over to where she stood and pulling her into a hug, "Are you okay?"

Shaking her head, she twisted her fingers into the fabric of his t-shirt and buried her face in the crook of his neck. Tightening his hold around her, Brax kissed her head and waited until she had calmed down to let her go.

"Aria, why don't we go and get the blood off of your hands?" Ricky suggested, earning a nod from Aria and leading her to the bathroom.

Staring into the sink, Aria watched as the blood mixed with the water and slipped down the drain. Returning to the waiting room, she took a seat beside Brax and anxiously played with the sleeve of her jumper.

"What happened?" Brax asked gently.

"I don't know, I came home and found him on the kitchen floor," Aria mumbled as Casey and Kyle arrived.

It was an hour, before Sid entered the waiting room and everyone stood up. Taking note of the lack of expression on his face, Aria felt her heart sink a little and waited anxiously for him to speak.

"Heath lost a lot of blood, but the knife didn't do any major damage and he's stable."

"So, he's going to be okay?" Aria inquired quietly.

"It'll take time for him to heal up, but I'm confident that he'll make a full recovery," Sid answered.

"Can we see him?" Kyle added, earning a nod in response and following him towards Heath's room.

Aria trailed behind as they made their way through the hospital, staying near the door and watching as Cheryl rushed in. Letting Brax explain what happened, she watched Heath's still form and looked up as her mom spoke.

"This is all your fault, you know?" she practically spat in Aria's direction, "Heath told us all about the trouble you've been having with that Jake Pirovic and It's nearly gotten your brother killed..."

"I..." Aria started, before falling silent and running from the room as tears again streamed down her face.

Cheryl was right, it was her fault and she needed to fix it.

* * *

 _ **Author's Notes**_ : _Thank you for reading!_


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